Sources of Vitality in the Post-Classical West
Introduction: It is just as important to understand what causes civilizations to rise, as it is to understand why they decline. That being said, let’s look at Western Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire.
Western Europe, between the 6th and 10th centuries was extremely chaotic. Some attributes:
1.Frequent invasions (by the Vikings or Muslims through Spain)
2.Almost no intellectual life to speak of
3.Cities and commerce were shrinking
4.Sustenance farming was the dominant form of agriculture.
But beginning in the 11th century, Western Europe began to come out of this Dark period. The question is “how.” The answer can be traced back to a combination of theories.
I.Legacy of Greece and Rome – Classical achievements were so inspiring that they were resurrected after centuries of chaos.
A.Many Europeans knew the Roman Empire had existed and felt a sense of loss
B.Use of Roman law helped to stabilize medieval politics
C.Continued use of Latin facilitated classical learning
II.Spread of Christianity – The church as a unifying element
A.Christianity incorporated elements of classical learning
B.The churches pleas for peace had a taming effect, resulting in more political stability
C.Church worked to improve its bureaucracy, which in turn inspired secular rulers to do the same.
D.The idea that man is superior to nature (man is created in God’s image) encouraged the attitude that nature was something to be exploited. This brought about technological improvements.
E.Interest in bells (church music) led to improved metallurgy.
F.Inspired the Crusades
III.Technological Factors
A.Moldboard plow - 9th century
1.its high cost and complexity required cooperation among villagers – this led to improved village organization
2.led to increased food production, which resulted in population growth, which led to the growth of cities
B.Horse collar – resulted in better land transport and increased trade
- Three field cultivations system (one field fallow)
Despite this progress, western European agriculture still not as progressive as other societies
IV.Impact
- increase in food production and Population growth
- Need for more labor led to less harsh conditions for serfs
- Growth of cities
- spread of literacy
- stimulation of religious life
- revitalization of popular culture (art)
- cathedral schools transformed into universities